There’s this place with books and periodicals, a staff that has an acute expertise for researching just about every subject and best of all it’s free! It’s the public library. This installment of “Don’t Forget the Old School” will take on why visiting the library is important to writing.

Ambiance

It’s the library’s mystique – the rows of books, the smell of the pages, the weird looks from that one guy who appears to be talking to his toes…

Technically, writing and researching in a library won’t increase your I.Q. immediately, but it will be a more productive place to work. Picture your home office – cozy but full of distractions. It’s quiet unless you live with other people and then that’s optional.

Quiet in a library is not optional. I swear there are people who go there specifically to shush people. There’s no refrigerator, no comfy sleeping couch and definitely no annoying neighbors popping up to say hi or to ask you about your lawn, mail or any other inane topic. When you go it will be just you and your work. That’s worth the price of admission and did I mention it’s f-r-e-e-?

Knowledge Base

Spending time in the actual library will give you access to incredible amounts of information and to helpful librarians who often know more about the subject than the person whose book you are checking out. I know, the argument is that you can get the same thing on the ‘net, especially with online search mechanisms often powered by the library system in your area. Let’s take a closer look…

Face it, not all materials in book form are available to read online. Have you ever tracked down a source based on a book synopsis and then realize the person is either on a different track than your article, the book sucks or is so dry it would give sand a run for its money?

I have, it’s disappointing and a waste of time. I write mostly for consumer periodicals and websites now so when I pick people and sources for research, I do so with the audience in mind. Busy working moms do not have time, nor the inclination to pick up a dry medical journal citing the ratio of infants with reflux. They would be more interested in a ‘parent’s guide’ book that covers medical ailments in an easy to understand manner.

The people who wrote the ‘parents guide’ book will also fit my audience’s expectations when it comes to quotes and information. That makes my job easier and my research comprehensive and valuable to my target audience.

Source Magnets

The librarians often know someone in the field that you are intersted in or at least an organization or source that can take you on your next step. At public college and university libraries, finding the right source is only a short campus walk away from the library.

Don’t discount the public library, the Internet’s ease of use is tempting, but there are some times when immersion is the way to go!

Coming up with article ideas or interesting angles is one of the challenges of being a freelance writer. Throw out the thoughts of being in competition with other writers, your main competition is yourself. Can you continually come up with ideas and angles? Are those angles fresh and interesting or the stale standard? Do you have the determination to mine resources for new ideas?

I know, it gets tough out there. It seems there are a million “writers” and actual writers covering every topic under the sun. The internet has spawned a deluge of information and the average writer may get lost in a sea of evergreen articles. But, you’re not the average writer are you? The information tidal wave may seem like a negative, but in reality it’s a positive. A large amount of average allows for the different and extraordinary to stand out. So, that article you’re working on right now…does the angle suck?

1. Does it… Show up on Google?

If it does, can you switch out the sources with yours and pretty much have the same piece? Google is a great source of ideas, it’s also a great source of ideas that have been done to death. My favorite freelance writing dead horse is the editorial calendar. We’ve covered it at length here, will likely still cover it again in the future. It doesn’t make that horse any less dead.

2. Does it…Give you writer deja vu?

Like you’ve have the feeling you’ve written it before? Muuuaaaahh! Don’t just shrug this one off. Go back and find the article. It will help you avoid repeating yourself and if you’re like me, rereading your work you’ll find an angle you could have conquered differently, other sources you could have contacted. Learn from your past.

3. Does it…Take longer than a few moments to explain to a lay person?

Unless it’s a heavy tech or specialized niche article you should be able to spit out the basic premise. It may be interesting and definitely different, but if it’s too conceptual and you have trouble explaining it, readers may have trouble with the point of it.

4. Does it…Make you sleepy just thinking about it?

I’ve written about this before, if you’re bored writing it, I’m going to be bored reading it. Not every topic is going to have the passion and excitement that gives writers and readers goosebumps. That’s still not an excuse to go auto-pilot. Find a way to get interested in the piece. Talk to a kooky source. Talk to a stranger about your topic and take note of the questions they may ask. This is how you get to the heart of the audience.

5. Is it…The result of low self-esteem?

There are times a writer, for whatever reason, doesn’t feel quite worthy of their position or craft. I know of writers who spend the first 10 seconds looking at their latest published piece with glee then the next 20 minutes pouring over it with a magnifying glass, gasping in horror at this turn of phrase or that choice of word. Low writing self-esteem may lead a writer to take a tried and true, or tried and through, angle on a piece. They don’t want to rock the boat, they are unsure of how the angle will be received, they don’t want to blow it with this editor, that publication, etc.

When I think of these folks I’m reminded of on my favorite moments from the movie The Incredibles, a woman is sobbing saying she doesn’t know what she’s going to do and her helpful friend smacks her about the head a couple of times and tells her to pull herself together and reminds her that she’s a superhero. On those low-esteem days when you begin to wonder what to do, I want you to remind yourself of who you are: You are a writer! Pull yourself together!

People can get information from a variety of sources, any day or night. Give them a reason to read your piece. If it’s an evergreen topic, give readers fresh pine aroma not dried stick with shedding needles.

Where are the Women? – Alicia Shepard asks an all important question about NPR & it’s diversity or lack of in some areas.

A dangerous assignment gone really, really bad-“Paul Raffaele, a top flight freelancer for Smithsonian magazine, was badly injured in a suicide bombing while on assignment in Afghanistan in 2008. Raffaele says the magazine agreed to insure him but he has nothing in writing. The two are now at an impasse. Writer Katie Rolnick tells the story.” Even if you’re not a freelance war journalist, this affects all of us. How many of us have implied agreements with our editors?

Student editors: ‘We stand by our decision to publish controversial opinions’ – “The editorial board at American University’s Eagle — under fire for a column about date rape — says it realizes it has to “take more responsibility for what we publish” and that “until we have a specific policy to do this, The Eagle will be temporarily suspending the publication of all opinion columns.” College papers push boundaries, ask questions, you may not agree with the columnist but it is encouraging to see students taking up the debate and learning the complex world of free press.

There’s nothing like finding a blog you love or a columnist that says exactly what you’re thinking. Often at FWJ we are accused of being mind readers and though I’d love to have all the readers of Freelance Writing Jobs spend $9.99 a minute to call in so I can read their writing tea leaves, we are actually just writing about what we live and questions we have had or have been asked. We try to evolve here, meet our readers needs, etc. and your other daily, weekly reading favorites should do the same.

When’s the last time you looked at the blogs you read and the columnist you follow? How about the last time you Googled freelance writing or freelance writer? There are a lot of new sites out there, sites that have moved up in readership/rank and sites that you may not have considered reading before and it may be time to find some new reading materials.

Writers want to grow in their craft. We want to increase our business profits, our writing prowess and sense of fufillment. Periodically, we need to take a look at our go-to materials and leaders. Don’t think I’m pushing you away from Freelance Writing Jobs – not likely since I love my job and like hanging out with you all on a weekly basis!

It’s simple – good writers read other good writers and great writers not only read their regular enlightened word wonders, they seek out new ones. The writers you follow don’t have to be experts, they don’t have to be the Hemingway of blog marketing or tech writing, they only need to have three things: good information, engaging content and a point of view.

FWJ has gone from single blog from Deb Ng to a thriving network with writers enthusiastic about their subjects, have you checked them all out? There’s no better place to start looking for more writers to read than right here:

Heads up FWJ crew, Article Writing at Freelance Writing Jobs has aFacebook fan page! Come on over for great post links from FWJ and other great sites, stimulating conversation and an opportunity to ask all your deep, dark article writing questions.

I hear a lot of writers talk about how they won’t apply for certain jobs or worry about accepting assignments because they know nothing about what they’d be required to write about and I hope to set you free today by letting you know you don’t have be an expert on a subject to write about it.

*Sigh* Felt good didn’t it? Letting out that breath of fear and hesitation is the first step to taking your writing career to the next level. Now, back to business. How do you write about something of which you have no knowledge? Research, research, research.

Do you need to become a leading expert in the subject before you can write your lede? No, but you need to become literate in the subject before you can begin searching for and interviewing subjects. Read up on the bones of the subject and then look at your audience. Are they other experts, hobbyists or the casual reader? Knowing your audience helps you determine how in-depth your knowledge of the subject needs to be.

Read up on the subject and then contact an expert. Ask the basic questions and also ask for research and source recommendations. Ask about angles on the subject that are not often covered. Remember, even for the casual reader you want to offer something more – something that will catch a reader’s eye and draw them into the article. Every parent has read an article on infants losing their belly buttons, but an article targeting less circulated newborn belly button issues like hernias is a great and different angle.

I’ve been blogging away here at the Freelance Writing Jobs Network for quite some time now and have compiled a pretty helpful lot of posts. However I realize those new to the site or those who may have missed a post don’t have time to go through all of the posts because you’re too busy writing! So here are a few of my favorite (and most helpful) article writing posts so far:

Yesterday we looked at scheduling time to research information, conduct interviews and prep an article in the first part of “Scheduling Time for Your Articles ” today we are going to wrap up this mini-series with a look at writing and editing.

Schedule time to write the article. Once your preliminary work is complete it’s time to write. Short articles you may wrap up the initial draft in an hour or so, longer feature articles or more detailed subjects may take you anywhere from a couple hours to a couple of days. You should know your writing style by now so you are the only one who can plan out the time. I will caution you, however, to avoid spending an entire day on one piece. When something takes all day it is easy to get bored or frustrated with it. A couple of focused hours over the course of a couple of days tends to give writers a better perspective on where the piece is going. Which brings me to the next item:

Schedule time to edit. “I edit as I write.” I hear that a lot when tutoring English students or students who are having trouble with papers in other classes. I usually respond “I can tell.” (Don’t worry, I am nice about it. Never crush a student’s writing confidence, it takes forever to get it back.) When you edit as you write you can end up with disjointed ideas, compromised flow and miss a gaggle of things you would have caught if you had gone back over the piece with your editing pen. Editing time is just as importing as writing and research time. I always advise students, writers, whomever, to take a day or two away from the piece. Give your brain a rest and then look at it with fresh eyes, you’ll have a much better idea of what works and what doesn’t.

Does the article writing process have to be a weeks-long odyssey? Absolutely not, but each step should be taken whether the step take 2 hours or 10 minutes. Giving the writing process time and diligence is what produces great writers, great articles and generates more income which is what we are all hoping for right? It also helps eliminate those pesky writing rodents “Procrastination” and “Missed Deadline.”

Do you break down the writing process differently? What works for you? Share it with your fellow writers below.

Do you remember what your first time felt like? The nervous, but excited fumbling to open it up (the web site or paper publication), the feverish scanning to take it all in (checking to see what the editor changed, making sure your name was spelled right) and the last cry of ecstasy (your paycheck!).

Dianne Burrell over at The Renegade Writer Blog is asking writers about their first time – literary experience you dirty minded thing. I want to know something different from the FWJ community – does it still feel as good as the first time, writing that is?

One of the keys to a successful writing career is you HAVE to love what you do. Not just like it or tolerate it. Writing is like another um, act – your passion and level of enthusiasm has a direct effect on the outcome. In other words, blah writers produce blah work.

We talk a lot here about the business of writing, the technical aspects of writing and the goals of writing, but I like writers to remember why they got into this business in the first place. The past is prologue – if you became a freelance writer to take on tough political issues, but you find yourself languishing in SEO article writing because it pays the bills you need to shake things up. If you aren’t reaching the same or surpassing the high you received from your first printed piece, you need to do a little therapy to get the passion back in your pen.

Love it, but it’s lost some umph

It’s a tried and true relationship. The bond you have with your niche or style of writing is steady, comfortable, but you miss some of the excitement. It’s time to try some new positions. Keep doing what works, but add some creativity. Try a new blog or a different type of publication. Shake up the way you format your articles: anecdote, statistic, quote, background info, bullet points, end quote, turn in article and repeat; that can get old after a while – stretch your legs and imagination.

Bring in another

Maybe your blog or column just doesn’t have the zing. Bring in a guest writer or blogger to breathe a little fresh air into your work. Use a guest writer and watch someone else have fun with and find the beauty in something you see everyday. Be careful not to get too attached or dependent, a guest could take over and before long you’ve lost the loyalty of your readers.

Practice makes perfect

Maybe you don’t write enough and when you do it just feels awkward. Keep practicing at every opportunity. Conduct additional research and work with in an expert or mentor if necessary.

While it will never be as special as your first time, your published pieces should continually feel just as good if not better as your first published piece. If it doesn’t make some changes!

A common freelance writer ritual is, at some point, usually at the beginning and maybe again in the middle of their day, freelancers will take trip through their feed readers and see what’s happening on the ‘Net. The idea of the reader is to allow people to follow their favorite blogs and Web sites without having to go to each and every site to look for updates, saving precious time. But every so often a writer must ask themselves “What is my feed reader teaching me?”

Great writers read voraciously, are curious and follow other great writers. Are you following great writers or popular ones? Do you pick up someone’s feed because you like their work or because you see in their feed burner stats that 2000 others seem to like it? Are you constantly starring posts and news because it’s interesting, thought provoking and potential article or blog topics or do you find yourself scanning and then marking the whole feed as “read?”

If you can’t come up with three things you’ve learned from the sites on your feed reader you need to revisit what you have.

Great Writing

Your feed burner should bring you some of the best writing the web has to offer and not just in areas of your niche. Reading items outside your area of expertise is a great way to gain a new perspective and to broaden your appreciation for a well thought out turn of phrase. Great writing and successful sites are opportunities to learn what works well with audiences.

News to Me

Your reader should bring you news – local, world and industry news. I like to do a Google search of terms under the news tag and then save the search as an item to my reader, ensuring I get not only up-to-date general news, but news that is focused on my areas of writing interest. Nothing generates more hits, whether on a blog site or through a query to editors, than a timely piece on a popular news story.

Filter the Jobs and Junk

Another habit I have is go through my reader periodically and get rid of the sites I thought were going to be a wealth of info, but turned out to be either duds or not right for me. You can’t follow everything – you don’t have that kind of time – so be selective.

I also send job searches from Craigslist and others, through my reader. It helps me keep track of not only what gigs are out there for the moment, but what the market trends are like in my area. *Let me be clear, it’s not a substitute for the great work Jodee does because she gathers leads from all over and most writers don’t have time to go through all of the hundreds of thousands of gigs out there, including the repetitive ones.

So this afternoon or tomorrow morning as you scan through the latest feed reader entries ask yourself “What am I learning?”